PC Shuts Down During Gameplay. Game Over?

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samurai1337

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#1 samurai1337
Member since 2005 • 86 Posts
I need some help here. I bought a pretty inexpensive pc off of this online company ibuypower. Since I've gotten it its had problems so i sent it back. They sed some cpu problem they'll fix it. Ok no problem. i get it back a few days ago and it hasnt been performing well. Whenever i play a game like doom 3 or counter-strike source or 2142 the pc completely shuts down. I called ibuypower and they said my card is not meant to run source but i can play it on high at 60fps. It runs counter-strike 1.6 fine but will shut down when i play any type of emulator. Is there a problem w/my pc or is it just that my gfx card is the suck for playing games?

My specs:
EVGA Nvidia 7300 GS
512mb Corsair Value Select PC-3200 RAM
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+
Gigabyte nForce 4 GA-K8NF-9 Motherboard
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frost_mourne13

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#2 frost_mourne13
Member since 2006 • 1615 Posts
Your 7300GS is pretty weak, but I see no reason why it can't run those games. Did you turn the settings up too high?
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nikeswoosh

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#3 nikeswoosh
Member since 2003 • 943 Posts
hmm u haven't over clocked ur cpu have u??? if not then id say def ur psu or maybe even ur gpu..its gotta be one of those..if u have a decent psu..but if u got it from ibuypower and just went with a case psu then that could be the prob cant handle the juice so it shuts down...thats what im leaning towards.
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samurai1337

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#4 samurai1337
Member since 2005 • 86 Posts
I just leave the game settings as what it says is best recommended for my pc and I haven't overclocked it all. It is a 400-watt powersupply but it did come w/the case
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frost_mourne13

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#5 frost_mourne13
Member since 2006 • 1615 Posts
Well, I doubt even a 400-watt PSU could struggle to power that setup...
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samurai1337

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#6 samurai1337
Member since 2005 • 86 Posts
So then i'm assuming the problem must be the card itself??
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frost_mourne13

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#7 frost_mourne13
Member since 2006 • 1615 Posts
Or a bug...Honestly, your video card shouldn't be the problem. It's weak, but not thaaat weak
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samurai1337

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#8 samurai1337
Member since 2005 • 86 Posts
Well, I've tried reinstalling the gfx drivers it came with. Then, that still didnt work and so i went to nvida.com and got the most recent drivers. still didn't work and then i reinstalled windows and installed the most up-to-date drivers and still nothin. i've tried lowering the settings and resolution reinstalling the games. i dont have any idea of wat to do next
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frost_mourne13

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#9 frost_mourne13
Member since 2006 • 1615 Posts
Do you have a friend with a high end pc? Maybe he can lend you his graphics card for an afternoon, plus a PSU. You can take out your 7300GS and try it with w/e card you friend has. Then you can find out if the problem is with the video card...
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bluealien2

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#10 bluealien2
Member since 2006 • 930 Posts
Case supplies are junk, keep your nose open for the smell of burning rubber/plastic, or if you know what a burnt capacitor/LED/resistor smells like, I'm guess it's one of two things..

A. Your GPU is overheating, monitor it's idle and load temperatures...
B. Your PSU is junk, like all of the ones that come with cases, and is going to die soon, my friend's case PSU did the same thing yours did a few times, and then wouldn't turn on, it was the PSU...

Even if it says 400W, if you put a 400W load on it, it's not gonna handle it (most likely) most case PSU's have the wrong voltage printed on them, then there actual output, and/or have low amperage on the 12V rails...
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frost_mourne13

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#11 frost_mourne13
Member since 2006 • 1615 Posts
Thats why he should borrow one real quick from his possible friend who might let him borrow it
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Cyborg-21

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#12 Cyborg-21
Member since 2007 • 2700 Posts
Anyway, to the topic creator, how many amps do you have on the 12V rail ?
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Cyborg-21

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#13 Cyborg-21
Member since 2007 • 2700 Posts
Anyway, to the topic creator, how many amps do you have on the 12V rail ?
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samurai1337

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#14 samurai1337
Member since 2005 • 86 Posts
where do i check the amps? today i played 1.6 and it now shuts down during that too. i also installed more RAM just to see if it was the memory
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trix5817

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#15 trix5817
Member since 2004 • 12252 Posts
Check if your heatsink/fan fell of your CPU or is loose. That's what happened to mine when my PC randomly shutoff during games.
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samurai1337

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#16 samurai1337
Member since 2005 • 86 Posts
I checked and it doesnt feel loose. I tried taking out my gfx card and putting it back in. It also had a crap load of dust on it so i blew all of it off
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trix5817

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#17 trix5817
Member since 2004 • 12252 Posts
What's the temp of your CPU? Download PC Wizard if you want to find out.
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Zarchon31

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#18 Zarchon31
Member since 2005 • 44 Posts
it might *might* be ur bios. try to update it to the most recent version along with every one of ur drivers. if that doesnt solve the problem, its probably with the CPU, GPU or PSU.
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Cyborg-21

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#19 Cyborg-21
Member since 2007 • 2700 Posts
What's the temp of your CPU? Download PC Wizard if you want to find out.trix5817
You could also try SpeedFan.
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raynimrod

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#20 raynimrod
Member since 2005 • 6862 Posts
I had a similar problem with games after I bought my new PC.  All I did was jump into my BIOS and up the voltage by 0.01v.  Give that a shot, up it by an extra notch if need be, but I think that could be your problem.
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samurai1337

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#21 samurai1337
Member since 2005 • 86 Posts
my friend actually took the entire pc apart and rebuilt it and i havent had any problems. he sed it was built really weird. i guess ibuypower if FTL. 
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JumpingMirrior

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#22 JumpingMirrior
Member since 2004 • 11495 Posts
Did you overclock anything?  If so, return everything to default and see if that helps.  I had this problem with my Old PC and i think the Power Suplly just got old.  Maybe you just have a bad one.
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samurai1337

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#23 samurai1337
Member since 2005 • 86 Posts
no i havent overclocked anything. i think the problem was that the fan on my cpu was loose. it could wiggle around very easily so we took it off and put it back on tight and secure. still have had no shutdowns so i think the problem is solved.

thanks everyone for all the great advice
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ncderek

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#24 ncderek
Member since 2004 • 5513 Posts
reinstall direct x and then reinstall drivers
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Cyborg-21

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#25 Cyborg-21
Member since 2007 • 2700 Posts
reinstall direct x and then reinstall driversncderek
He has already solved the problem :)